Red-breasted flycatcher

Ficedula parva

Photo by Rajneesh Suvarna (Oiseaux)

Common name:
red-breasted flycatcher (en); papa-moscas-pequeno (pt); gobemouche nain (fr); papamoscas papirrojo (es); zwergschnäpper (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Muscicapidae


Range:
This species is found breeding in eastern and north-eastern Europe, from the Balkans and Poland to southern Finland, into Near Russia all the way to the Urals, and through northern Turkey and the Caucasus into northern Iran. They mainly winter in India and Pakistan, and around the Persian Gulf.


Size:
These birds are 11-12 cm long and have a wingspan of 18,5-21 cm. They weigh 8,5-11 g.


Habitat:
Red-breasted flycatchers are mostly found in mixed temperate forests and open woodlands, but also in plantations. During winter they are also found in tropical and sub-tropical dry forests and in rural areas.


Diet:
They are mainly insectivorous, eating ants, beetles, flies, butterflies and spiders, but will also eat snails and berries.


Breeding:
Red-breasted flycatchers are monogamous and territorial. The female builds the nest, an open cup made of mosses, grasses and leaves, lined with finer materials. The nest is placed in a hole in a tree or wall, or sometimes in a scrub, 1-4 m above the ground. The female lays 4-7 whitish or blue-green eggs with reddish-brown speckles, which she incubates alone for 12-15 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 11-15 days after hatching. Each pair raises a single clutch per year.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.